The talk in the Arsenal dressing room last night was of one team only.

Not Real Madrid, not Bayern Munich and certainly not Schalke. It was Barcelona who dominated thoughts and conversations. Some of Arsène Wenger’s players even feel they are destined to be drawn against Pep Guardiola’s team of all the talents in the round of 16.

They have previous. Arsenal have the memories of a chastening experience against the Catalans last season, a half of hope at the Emirates when Theo Walcott and Cesc Fabregas delivered followed by the Lionel Messi-inspired trouncing at the Nou Camp. The little Argentinian was hailed “as the best player in the world” by Wenger after four magical goals.

No desire for revenge against Barcelona stains Arsenal’s vision, simply a craving to do themselves justice. Guardiola’s XI are the modern yard-stick, the benchmark for all those teams and players who aspire to be the best.

If they are pitted against Barcelona when Sir Bobby Charlton helps administer the draw in Nyon on Dec 17, Arsenal will need to defend more diligently if they are to keep Messi, David Villa and company at bay.

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They will need Walcott at his flying best, Fabregas at his fittest and most creative, and Robin van Persie to have regained complete sharpness. Samir Nasri, a model of reliability this season, just needs to maintain his exceptional form.

Nasri moved to the left midway through the second half last night, shifting across when Walcott arrived to replace Andrei Arshavin. The Russian was heckled by some Arsenal fans. There are suspicions that some of the frustration might be 2018-related but, in truth, it might simply that Arshavin occasionally lost possession or ran down cul de sacs.

His replacing by Walcott was certainly well-received, the England winger coming in from the cold after 67 minutes shivering on the bench. How Arsenal needed him to settle the nerves of a team who were far from at full throttle and a stadium that was far from full.

Arsenal made hard work of defeating Partizan, just as they have made hard work of this group. Having started so confidently, they stuttered and risked dropping into the Europa League if Braga had caused an upset at Shakhtar Donetsk.

Not at the races, Arsenal’s focus was seemingly distracted by the sight of Kieran Gibbs turning his right ankle, departing on a stretcher, limping back on but then finally leaving the fray, a forlorn, lame figure. With Gael Clichy rested, Emmanuel Eboue came on at left-back.

A poor game was enlivened when Van Persie struck after 30 minutes. He began the move, sliding a pass through to Alex Song on the edge of the area and gliding into the box. Faced by Mladen Krstajic, Song flicked the ball up and it caught the Partizan captain and continued to Van Persie. As he stepped away from goal into space, Van Persie was caught by Marko Jovanovic, the Serbian centre-back.

It was the gentlest of contacts, still enough to knock Van Persie off his stride. As he fell to the ground, a few protestations fell from Partizan lips when Paolo Tagliavento pointed to the spot. Van Persie made quick, clinical work of the penalty, driving it past Vladimir Stojkovic.

Arsenal fans loved it, waking them from their earlier, icy slumbers.

With the attendance apparently 58,845, those who had braved the cold were looking to be entertained, to be warmed up, to see signs of real understanding between Van Persie and Maroaune Chamakh.

More amusement was provided by the additional assistant referees from Italy wearing thermal leggings. After the Portuguese officials at Old Trafford on Tuesday, the Champions League was showing Men In Tights 2.

Suddenly a few nerves knotted in Arsenal stomachs. Suddenly a few thoughts turned to events in the Ukraine. Some waves of frustration swept through the crowd, particularly when Arshavin lost possession.

Walcott raced on and soon earned a free-kick when baulked by Krstajic. Van Persie connected sweetly enough, the ball clearing the Partizan wall but not Vladimir Stojkovic, who tipped it over.

Walcott’s arrival was clearly worrying Partizan and Arsenal duly took six minutes after he came on. When Sagna crossed from the right, Partizan failed to clear properly and there was Walcott, sending a crisp right-footed volley past Stojkovic.

Allowed to breathe easy by Walcott, Arsenal took total control. When Alex Song drove through the middle, showing touch, balance and determination, Partizan melted. Song found Nasri, who placed the ball elegantly past Stojkovic.

Having lost Gibbs to injury, Arsenal then lost their other full-back, Sagna, to a red card for fouling Aleksandar Lazarevski and denying a clear goalscoring opportunity with five minutes left. Partizan failed to exploit the free-kick opportunity.